Otters Fall in Pre-Season Opener 5-4

Keith Dotson - OHL Pucks and Stripes

Buffalo, New York – The Erie Otters fell to the Windsor Spitfires 5-4 as they opened up their exhibition schedule Friday night at the second annual OHL Pre-Season Showcase at Harborcenter in Buffalo, New York.

Erie had a slow start to the evening being outshot 12-5 in the first period. Starting goaltender Anand Oberoi stopped 11 of the Spitfires 12 shots in the frame to keep the Otters in striking distance. As the game progressed the team found their legs under them and pressured their West Division foe.

The second period saw Erie continue the pressure, outshooting Windsor 9-8. The offense trickled in as rookie Marcus Gillard found the back of the net for his first goal as an Otter, tying the game at one. Windsor would regain the lead a little over five minutes later on a play from Curtis Douglas. The Otters weren’t phased and found some chemistry between Maxim Golod and first round import pick Petr Cajka. Golod put on the moves behind the net to get free then deliver a perfect setup in the slot to Cajka who buried the equalizer, sending the teams into the break at tied at two.

Windsor found the jump early in the third as they netted a pair of goals before the seven-minute mark of the frame. Erie’s cycle game would lead to the their third goal of the game as the Otters worked the left wing wall to feed the puck to blueliner Ryan Martin. Martin’s shot would find it’s way through heavy traffic and through the netminder to bring Erie within one with Chad Yetman getting credit for the goal. The Spitfires again would again find a way to extend their lead to two as Erie headed to the desperate last seconds to tie the game. Following a timeout, the Otters would use a net-front scramble to chip another puck past Kari Piiroinen to draw the score to 5-4. Unfortunately for the Otters, Hayden Fowler’s last second tally was all for the offense on this night as the Otters fell to the Spitfires 5-4.

Windsor outshot Erie 27-22 on the evening and scored the game’s only power play goal. The Otters didn’t dress Kyle Maksimovich, Jack Duff, Daniel Murphy, Jamie Drysdale, Josh Wainman, Gera Poddubnyi, and Danial Singer. Erie will head into day two of the OHL Pre-Season Showcase anticipating a date with the Flint Firebirds at 7pm.

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